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Woman Dies In House Fire

FENWICK – Tragedy struck early this week when a local woman perished in a fire early Monday evening at her home in Fenwick Island, just across the bay from north Ocean City.

Shortly before 6 p.m. on Monday, Ocean City Fire Company units responded to a reported house fire on Jefferson Ave. in Fenwick Island just across the Fenwick ditch in an area of Delaware surrounded by a small area of Worcester County. First arriving units discovered flames and heavy smoke emanating from a second-floor bedroom window of the residence.

Firefighting units from the Roxana Volunteer Fire Company joined Ocean City crews on the scene and the blaze was brought under control a short time later.

Once the fire was under control, crews entered the residence and discovered the home’s lone resident, later identified as Joyce Hornyak, 31. She was transported to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin where she was pronounced dead.

Fire damage has been estimated at around $100,000. The cause of the blaze is still unknown and is being investigated by the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Major Incident Response Team.